Passport Application – New and Easier rules for the Indian Citizens

Passport Application

Obtaining a passport in India earlier looks like a tragic situation holding the archaic rules that need to be abided by. But it was all the harder for a particular genre like single or divorced parents who used to face some unwanted questions from the passport authorities. But, wait! Gone are those rules now due to the thoughtful initiatives that were taken by the Indian Government. Therefore, all the aspiring applicants can now have a sigh of relief as the Ministry of External Affairs has come up with the new policies for passport application.

Know about the passport application rules that have replaced the old (and redundant) ones.

Date of Birth Proof

Then: All aspiring applicants born on or after January 26, 1989, were required to submit a Birth Certificate as a Date of Birth (DOB) proof.

Now: In the new rulebook, the passport authority has mentioned that eight different documents which can be submitted as a DOB evidence. The documents are listed as under:

Birth Certificate provisioned by the Registrar of Births & Deaths or the Municipal Corporation under the Registration of Birth & Deaths Act 1969, or by any other authority with the same diligence to register the birth of a child born in India.

Transfer/School leaving/Matriculation Certificate – issued by the school last attended/recognised by an educational board with the DOB of the applicant.

PAN Card – issued by the Income Tax Department with the DOB of a claimant.

Aadhar Card/E-Aadhar – with the DOB of an applicant.

The copy of the service record of the applicant of Government servant or the Pay Pension Order of the retired Government Servants duly attested or certified by the officer-in-charge of the Administration of the concerned Ministry or Department of the applicant, having his Date of Birth.

Driving licence issued by the Transport Department of concerned State Government, having the DOB of a claimant.

Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC) – released by the Election Commission of India having the DOB of an applicant.

Policy Bond – issued by the Public Life Insurance Corporations/Companies having the DOB of the holder of the insurance policy.

Name of single parent or legal guardian

A committee including the officials of the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Women and Child Development was formed sometime back to look into various issues regarding passport applications. They went through the cases where mother/child insisted that the name of the father should not be mentioned on the passport, and also to concern the issues relating to adopted children and children with a single parent. For the relief of the petitioners, appropriate action was taken in this regard by the Minister of External Affairs.

Then: It was compulsory to mention the names of both the parents at the time of applying for the offspring’s passport.

Now: The claimant can share the name of his/her father, mother or legal guardian, i.e., only one parent and not both in the passport application form online. This step will be helpful for single parents to apply for the passport of their child with ease without any hassle.

If the applicant is divorced or separated, it is not mandatory for him/her to mention the spouse name in the passport application form. Passports of such candidates will not be required to provide even the Divorce Decree.

The Total Number of Annexes reduced

Number of Annexes prescribed in the Passport Rule, 1980, has been brought down from 15 to only 9. Annexes A, C, D, E, J, and K have been removed, and certain Annexes have been merged.

All the additions that are required to submit by the applicants would be in the form of a self-declaration on plain paper. No attestation/swearing by/before any Notary/Executive Magistrate/First Class Judicial Magistrate would be henceforth necessary.

Married applicants will not be required to provide Annexure K or any marriage certificate.

Orphan children who do not have any idea of birth date or any proof such as Birth Certificate or the Matriculation Certificate or the declaratory Court order can now submit a declaration given by the Head of the Orphanage/Child Care Home on their official letterhead of the organisation confirming the DOB of the applicant.

In the case of children not born out of wedlock, the applicant for the passport of such children should submit only Annexure G while submitting the visa application.

While issuing of passport to in-country domestically adopted children, submission of the registered adoption deed would no longer be required. In the absence of any act to this effect, the passport applicant may give a declaration on a plain paper confirming the adoption.

Government servants, who are unable to obtain the Identity Certificate (Annexure-B)/ No-Objection Certificate (Annexure-M) from their concerned employer and intend to get the passport on urgent basis, they can now get the passport by submitting a self-declaration in Annexure-‘N’ that he/she has given prior Intimation letter to his/her employer informing that he/she was applying for an ordinary passport to a Passport Issuing Authority.

Saints or Sanyasis can request a passport with the name of their spiritual Guru in the lieu of their biological parent(s) name(s) subject to their providing of at least one public document such as Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC) issued by the Election Commission of India, PAN Card, Aadhaar Card, etc. wherein the name of the Guru has been recorded against the column(s) for parent(s) name(s).

You can also check out for the official document released by the Ministry which is shared here Click Now!